Post navigation

New World School of the Arts welcomes the holidays with Olivier-Award winning musical Once on this Island. Under the direction of Stuart Meltzer, this Caribbean-flavored one-act musical by Lynn Ahrens combines love stories and storytelling to illustrate the ever-present socioeconomic realities of the Caribbean. Presented by NWSA high school seniors and juniors from the music theater program, this is “the first African-American focused high school production that we’ve done here in a while,” said Meltzer. “It really gave us the opportunity to jump on something that has extraordinary material.”

This Tony-award nominated Broadway production, akin to a somber The Little Mermaid, tells the story of Ti Moune (played by senior Ciara Harris), a peasant girl who rescues Daniel, a wealthy boy from the other side of her island, after a car accident. As Ti Moune saves his life and nurses Daniel back to health they fall in love and dream the impossible dream of a life together. When Daniel is returned to his people, the gods who rule the island lead Ti Moune on a quest that tests the strength of her love against the powerful forces of prejudice, hatred and death.